The 5 Essential Steps to Get Your Kbis Online Quickly

Getting a Kbis online is today the fastest way to retrieve the official extract of a company registered with the French Trade and Companies Register (RCS). Whether you are the director or a third party, the extrait Kbis can be obtained in just a few minutes from home, without visiting the clerk of the commercial court.

This guide walks you through the 5 essential steps to get your Kbis online quickly, with the official platforms, the documents to prepare and real costs — including how to get a Kbis for free when you are the legal representative of the company.

What is a Kbis?

The extrait Kbis (or extrait K bis) is the official document that attests to the legal existence of a commercial company in France. Issued by the clerk of the commercial court, it serves as the company's "identity card". Individual entrepreneurs registered with the RCS receive an extrait K, while legal entities (SARL, SAS, SA, EURL, SNC, commercial SCI…) receive an extrait Kbis.

An extrait Kbis consolidates all the public legal information about the company: name, legal form, SIREN/SIRET number, RCS, share capital, registered office address, directors, APE/NAF code, creation date and any collective proceedings. Every Kbis extract issued online is timestamped and bears the electronic signature of the clerk.

Why the Kbis matters for companies

For a company, the extrait Kbis is essential in every procedure that requires proof of legal existence. Keeping a fresh Kbis at hand facilitates:

• Opening a professional bank account
• Responding to calls for tender and public procurement
• Signing a commercial lease
• Financing applications (bank loan, grant, leveraging)
• Registration on B2B platforms, marketplaces or vendor portals
• Sale, merger or transfer operations

Most organizations require an extract less than 3 months old, sometimes less than one month for public tenders. Knowing how to quickly file a Kbis request online is therefore an operational reflex to master as soon as the company is set up.

Step 1: Create an online account

The first step to get a Kbis online is to create an account on the platform that matches your role (director or third party). The platform choice determines the cost, speed and evidential value of the document you retrieve.

Choose the right platform

Three official channels now let you request a Kbis digitally. The right choice depends on your position regarding the company:

• You are the director / legal representative → use MonIdéNum to get a free Kbis as many times as you need.
• You are a third party (client, bank, lawyer, supplier) → go through Infogreffe, the official clerks' service.
• You need a certified paper document → contact the competent commercial court clerk directly.

Popular options to request a Kbis

Good to know: the same data (non-certified) is also available for free on annuaire-entreprises.data.gouv.fr. But for any official use, only the PDF electronically signed by the clerk has legal value.

Step 2: Prepare the required documents

Before launching your Kbis request, gather the items that will be requested during identification. This preparation avoids back-and-forth and lets you get your Kbis online quickly, in a single session.

List of required documents

Depending on the chosen platform, supporting documents differ:

• On MonIdéNum (director): a valid ID document, a smartphone to activate FranceConnect or the MonIdéNum app, and ideally the SIREN number of your company.
• On Infogreffe (third party): a payment method (credit card), a valid email address and the SIREN number, company name or address of the targeted company.
• At the clerk's office (paper): a request form and payment (cheque, fiscal stamps depending on the clerk).

Verifying the information

Before submitting your Kbis request, check that:

• The SIREN number has exactly 9 digits, no space
• The company name matches exactly the one registered with the RCS
• Your ID document is not expired (MonIdéNum will block otherwise)
• The email address used is active — the PDF is sent there

SIREN errors are the #1 cause of blocking: double-check it first using our guide to finding a company's SIRET.

Step 3: File the Kbis extract request

Once your account is created and your information is ready, the actual Kbis extract request takes less than 2 minutes. Official platforms have standardized forms so that getting a Kbis online is as simple as booking a train ticket.

Filling out the online form

The process is nearly identical on MonIdéNum and Infogreffe:

1. Search for the company — enter the SIREN, name or registered office address.
2. Select the company in the results (verify the exact address if multiple entities share the same name).
3. Choose the type of document — extrait Kbis (legal entity) or extrait K (individual entrepreneur), with or without historical record.
4. Validate the cart and, on Infogreffe, proceed to payment.
5. Download the PDF from your account, or receive it by email.

Details to provide for the request

Minimum information required to obtain a Kbis extract:

• The SIREN number (9 digits) or the SIRET number (14 digits) of the head office
• Optionally the company name if you don't know the SIREN
• Your contact details (email, name) to receive the document
• Your FranceConnect identification if using MonIdéNum

No additional supporting document is required for third parties: the Kbis extract is a public document, available to anyone.

Step 4: Cost and payment methods

Contrary to popular belief, it is possible to get a Kbis for free in many cases. The price depends solely on your profile (director vs. third party) and the channel used. Here is the breakdown so you don't pay unnecessarily.

Get a free Kbis via MonIdéNum

Since 2019, every company director can download their own Kbis extract for free through monidenum.fr, operated by the French National Council of Commercial Court Clerks. The service is official, unlimited, and the document has the same legal value as the one on Infogreffe.

Online payment via Infogreffe for third parties

If you are a third party (lawyer, bank, client, business partner) or need the extract of a company you do not manage, the fee on Infogreffe is €3.70 incl. tax per PDF extract downloaded. Accepted payment methods:

• Credit card (Visa, Mastercard, CB) — the most common
• Prepaid Infogreffe account (useful for law firms or accountants)
• Professional subscription for recurring needs (tiered pricing)

A certified extract sent by mail costs a few euros more (postal fees). For a Kbis extract with full historical record (statute changes, director changes), the price can climb to around €7.

Step 5: Receive your Kbis

Once your Kbis request is validated, the final step is retrieving the document. Depending on the channel, reception is instant or takes a few days.

Delivery methods for your Kbis

• Instant PDF download (MonIdéNum, Infogreffe) — available from your personal dashboard and sent by email in parallel. The recommended format for all digital use cases.
• Email delivery — a secure link to the document, with a qualified electronic signature.
• Postal delivery (clerk) — within 3 to 7 working days. Useful if the receiving administration requires a stamped paper original.

Verifying the authenticity of your extract

Every Kbis extract issued since 2019 includes an authentication QR code at the bottom of the page. To verify that a Kbis document is authentic:

1. Scan the QR code at the bottom right of the PDF with a smartphone.
2. The QR code opens an infogreffe.fr page showing the online version of the same extract.
3. Compare the content: any difference reveals a forgery or tampering.

You can also verify the clerk's qualified electronic signature in Adobe Acrobat Reader ("Signatures" panel). An authentic Kbis displays "Signed by [clerk name] - Valid certificate".

What does an extrait Kbis contain?

Once your Kbis is downloaded, here is what you will find inside. Understanding the structure of a Kbis extract helps you check at a glance that it is complete and up to date:

To dig deeper into the links between these identifiers, see our dossier on the differences between SIREN, SIRET and RNA and our guide to the RCS number.

Frequently asked questions